The Ecology of Food Systems
Program Description: Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the ecology of the Food System and its influences on product/service/system/organizational design and leadership. Download/Print Program Information Sheet
About the Instructors:
The lead instructor, Ernesto Mendez, Ph.D., research and teaching efforts focus on developing and applying interdisciplinary approaches that analyze interactions between agriculture, livelihoods, and biodiversity conservation.
Deane Wang, Ph.D. is an ecologist whose research revolves around biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling at the ecosystem and landscape levels.
John Todd, Ph.D. is one of the pioneers in the emerging field of ecological design and engineering who’s scholarship and professional work focuses on the theory and practice of employing ecological knowledge to address urgent human and environmental problems such as redesigning our food system.
Who should attend: Current or aspiring food and agriculture organization and/or economic development practitioners, administrators, facility management staff, upper level undergraduates and graduate students who are planning for careers in these fields, and continuing education students interested in the connections between the environment, health, ecology, community development, design, farming, land use planning, transportation, and public policy.
Dates: 6/18-22, 2012
Time: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location: UVM Campus
Schedule (preliminary):
Download Schedule
| Date/Time: | Session: | Classroom Location | |
| Monday June 18: An Introduction to the Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems (Ernesto Mendez) | |||
| 9:00-9:30 | Instructor, Participant and Course Introductions | ||
| 9:00-10:30 | Agri-food system concepts and perspectives | ||
| - K (What do you know) W (What do you want to Know) L (What did you Learn) exercise: Participants share what they know, want to learn on the ecology of food systems and set the stage to compare with what they learned. | |||
| - What is an agri-food system? | |||
| - Political ecology of agri-food systems | |||
| 10:30-10:45 | Break | ||
| 10:45-12:00 | Group exercise: Our relationship to food- participants group or pair up and share 1) a description of the food system they are dependent on; 2) cultural aspects of their food habits; 3) a reflection on the positive and negative aspects of their particular food system |
||
| 12:00-1:30 | Lunch | ||
| The ecology of food systems experiential project (Ernesto, Dean and possibly John) | |||
| 1:30-2:30 | Description of field activities and reflections | ||
| 2:30-3:00 | Separating into teams and assigning farms | ||
| 3:00-5:00 | Visit to the Intervale Center | ||
| Tuesday June 19: Ecological Design for Sustainable Food Systems (John Todd, Lead) | |||
| 9:00 – 10:30 | Overview of Ecological Design and Its Applications in Society Basic Principles of Ecological Design | ||
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Break | ||
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Whole Systems and Ecological Technologies Including Eco-Machines | ||
| 12:00 – 1:30 | Lunch | ||
| 1:30 – 3:00 | Urban Food Production & the Potential for Year Round Food Production | ||
| 3:00 – 4:30 | Agro-Eco-Parks: The New Economic Frontier | ||
| 4:30 – 5:30 | Landscape Scale Food Production: An Ecologist’s View | ||
| Wednesday June 20: Conceptual Bases Ecological systems thinking with a focus on food (Deanne Wang, Lead) |
|||
| 9:30 – 10:30 | Thinking ecologically, a tour of nature’s solutions to relationships | ||
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Break | ||
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Growth in a finite world, evolution, adaptation, and sustainability | ||
| 12:00 – 1:30 | Lunch | ||
| 1:30 – 3:30 | Thinking in cycles. Natural cycles – gaseous vs. sedimentary. Human cycles – waste cycling vs. down cycling vs. waste is food. | ||
| 3:30 – 5:30 | Thinking in systems, concept mapping, process mapping exercise. | ||
| 12:00-1:30 | Lunch | ||
| Agroecology and agri-food systems (Ernesto Mendez, Lead | |||
| 1:30-3:00 | Agri-food system concepts and perspectives | ||
| - Agroecology: Ecological perspectives of agri-food systems | |||
| - Analytical tools for examining the ecology of food systems: Agroecology, GIS, LCA, Carbon Footprint | |||
| 3:00-4:00 | Group exercise: Calculating participant’s food carbon footprint | ||
| 4:00-5:00 | Introduction and planning for group project starting Thursday (field trip and exercise) | ||
| 5:00-5:30 | Daily Reflection | ||
| Reading for this day (need to have been read by this day): | |||
| 1. James Kay’s chapter on systems (Kay, J.. 2008. Framing the Situation. pp. 15-34 IN Waltner-Toews, D., Kay, J.J., and Ulster, N-M. E. (eds.). The Ecosystem Approach – Complexity, Uncertainty, and Managing for Sustainability. Columbia University Press, NY.) | |||
| 2. Proctor, J.D. and Larson, B.M.H. 2005. Ecology, Complexity, and Metaphor. BioScience 55(12): 1065-1068. | |||
| 3. Pimbert, M. P., Thompson, J., Vorley, W. T., Fox, T., Kanji, N., & Tacoli, C. (2001). Global restructuring, agri-food systems and livelihoods. Gatekeeper Series # 100. London, UK: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). | |||
| 4. Allen, P. (2008). Mining for justice in the food system: perceptions, practices, and possibilities. Agriculture and Human Values 25(2): 157-161. | |||
| 5. Méndez, V. E. (2010). Agroecology. In B. Warf (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Prompt: a. What characterizes agroecology as an adequate field to address food system issues and problems? b. Is agroecology enough? |
|||
| 6. Jones, C.M. and D.M. Kammen (2011). Quantifying Carbon Footprint Reduction Opportunities for US Households and Communities. Environmental Science & Technology 45(9): 4088-4095.
Prompt: a. Discuss the main activities that drive carbon footprint size in U.S. households and how they relate to each other? b. What are the key social, economic or environmental factors that affect carbon footprint size in U.S. households? c. Discuss potential carbon footprint abatement measures at the household level and what steps would be necessary for them to be implemented. |
|||
| 7. Review: http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/ | |||
| Thursday June 21: Ecology of the Burlington organic vegetable food system | |||
| 9:00-12:30 am | Visit to the Intervale Center and farms | ||
| 12:30-1:30 pm | Lunch | ||
| 1:30-3:30 pm | Meeting with Meg Klepack at City Market | ||
| 3:45-5:00 pm | Work on group projects | ||
| Reading for this day (need to have been read by this day): go over farm and market websites | |||
| Intervale Community Farm: http://intervalecommunityfarm.com | |||
| Half Pint Farm: http://halfpintfarm.com | |||
| City Market: http://www.citymarket.coop | |||
| Burlington’s Farmer Markets: http://www.burlingtonfarmersmarket.org | |||
| Friday June 22: Ecologies of post-production and Navigating the Burlington organic vegetable food system | |||
| 9:00-10:30 am | Sustainability of agri-food systems | ||
| 10:30-10:45 | Break | ||
| 10:45-12:00 | Assessing ecological impacts of food | ||
| 12:00-1:30 | Lunch | ||
| 1:30-2:30 | Preparation of group presentations | ||
| 2:30-4:30 | Group presentations | ||
| 4:30-5:30 |
Concluding reflection and discussion- L of the KWL; Group discussion and share the key learning points you have taken from the course, and how you can incorporate it into your reflective essay. Reading for this day (need to have been read by this day): |
||
| 8. Kloppenburg, J., Lezberg, S., De Master, K., Stevenson, G. W., & Hendrickson, J. (2000). Tasting food tasting sustainability: Defining the attributes of an alternative food system with competent, ordinary people. Human Organization, 59(2), 177-186. Prompt: a. Many people think discussing sustainability is a waste of time? What do you think? Why? b. How do different people (from different backgrounds and holding different jobs) understand sustainability? Same or Different? Why? |
|||
| 9. Heller, M.C. and G.A. Keoleian (2003). Assessing the sustainability of the US food system: a life cycle perspective. Agricultural Systems 76(3): 1007-1041. |
|||
Consider the convenience of staying on Campus: Registrants for our summer sustainability programs this year have the option of staying in the newest, green, residence halls on campus-University Heights South. This allows participants the opportunity to live in a learning community with scholars in residence, and other like-minded professionals, seeking to distinguish themselves as sustainability leaders. We would like to encourage students taking sustainability focused courses to take advantage of this opportunity in order to create a shared learning experience. Also, as part of these programs, there will be panel discussions taking place at University Heights South on Tues.-Thurs. evenings, 7pm-9pm. Linens are included in your stay, and the U Heights dorms are air-conditioned. Staying on campus is convenient for access to dining halls, parking, easy assess to class, and downtown restaurants. If you would like to request on campus housing, just select the housing option during the registration process. Additional information about University Heights.
Contact Us for more information: Email or call 800-639-3210
Vermont Training Program Grants
Program grants available for non-credit courses.
Employees working in the industries of: manufacturing, healthcare, informational technology, telecommunications, and environmental engineering may be eligible for up to a 40% discount on non-credit courses. This grant is offered through a partnership with the Vermont Training Program and the Department of Economic Development. For more details call us at 888-222-3413 or 802-656-4033. Or fill out this simple application form and we will respond within 3-5 business days: VTP Grant Application